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IMPROPER ATTITUDES HAVE HINDERED THE WORK OF LOCAL CONGREGATIONS.
Paul was a builder.
He tried to “build again” what he had destroyed.
Many brethren have a negative attitude.
They desire to tear up and pull down if they cannot control and dictate.
Many congregations have communicated to the world more vividly the things that
we are against rather than the positive things Christians can enjoy.
SOME ATTITUDES THAT ARE ESSENTIAL FOR CHRISTIANS AND CONGREGATIONS TO GROW.
We need to consider each of these and see where we can apply to ourselves.
FIRST, WE MUST HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD AUTHORITY.
We must accept the Bible as the Word of God and the final authority in all things
we do.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 – “For this reason we also thank God without
ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us,
you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God,
which also effectively works in you who believe.”
1 Corinthians 14:37 - “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual,
let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments
of the Lord.”
FIRST, WE MUST HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD AUTHORITY.
The church is not a democracy whereby majority rule establishes authoritative
doctrine.
Christ is LORD and HEAD of the Church.
The BIBLE is the COMPLETE and FINAL AUTHORITY for man today.
This truth, firmly accepted by Christians would end the vain practice of trying
to restructure God’s plan about marriage and re-marriage.
FIRST, WE MUST HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD AUTHORITY.
This truth, firmly accepted by Christians would end the vain practice of trying
to undermine the position, authority, and work of elders in the Lord’s
Church.
This truth, firmly accepted by Christians would end the vain attempt to change
the avenues of worship God wants His people to use today in worshipping Him.
This truth, firmly accepted by Christians would end all other efforts to dethrone
God’s will as already firmly established on the pages of God’s Holy
Word.
WE MUST HAVE ATTITUDES THAT ARE POSITIVE AND OPTIMISTIC.
The Bibles teaches that our achievements are geared to faith and expectation.
Proverbs 23:7 – “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Matthew 15:28 – “Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman,
great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.”
Mark 10:27 - "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God
all things are possible.”
Mark 9:23 – “Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things
are possible to him who believes.”
WE MUST HAVE ATTITUDES THAT ARE POSITIVE AND OPTIMISTIC.
Think about the achievements that have been accomplished merely because someone
dared to believe that they were possible when others doubted.
Transportation; Communication; Space travel and exploration; Medicine; Modern
conveniences in daily use.
Dare to dream big . . . and dare to do big things.
It has been said, “We will never know what God can do for us if we undertake
only those things which we have convinced ourselves that we can do without Him.”
WE MUST HAVE ATTITUDES OF COURAGE WITHOUT FEAR.
2 Timothy 1:7-8 – “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord . . .”
This passage could be a special source of courage to the timid personal worker.
Many Christians excuse themselves from knocking on doors or doing other forms
of personal work.
WE MUST HAVE ATTITUDES OF COURAGE WITHOUT FEAR.
The primary cause is FEAR.
They fear that the door will be slammed in their faces.
They fear they will be insulted.
They fear they will not be prepared to answer any questions that might be asked.
They fear they will fail to say the right thing or do the right thing
WE MUST HAVE ATTITUDES OF COURAGE WITHOUT FEAR.
Some key words stand out in 2 Timothy 1:7-8 to explain why God has not given
us the spirit of fear. “Power”; “Love”; “Sound
mind”
Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power
of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for
the Greek.
If we equip ourselves with the power of the Gospel . . . and we sincerely love
the souls of the lost . . . then we will approach them sensibly (as one with
a sound mind, and not as a fanatic).
That combination will work.
Hebrews 13:5-6 – “. . . For He Himself has said, "I will never
leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my
helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
WE MUST HAVE ATTITUDES OF COURAGE WITHOUT FEAR.
Why do we fear? Could it be because we have not learned the lessons of
Matthew 10:28 – “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot
kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell.”
Jesus is saying we are not to fear man.
Proverbs 29:25 - The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD
shall be safe.
WE MUST HAVE ATTITUDES OF PATIENCE AND FORGIVENESS.
Ephesians 4:1-2 – “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech
you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness
and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love”.
WE MUST HAVE ATTITUDES OF PATIENCE AND FORGIVENESS.
I wish I could assure each and every one present that upon one’s obedience
to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that then you would never be disappointed in another
person and that no offending mistreatment would ever enter your life-space.
But I cannot because Jesus said in Luke 17:1 –“It is impossible
that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!”
We need to learn the qualities of Christian love so that we will not attach
significance to things that others do.
The apostle Paul tells us in I Corinthians 13:4 that love “. . suffers
long, and is kind. . .” The following verse tells us that love “
. . . is not provoked.”
WE MUST HAVE THE ATTITUDE OF BROTHERLY LOVE.
It may well be that LOVE is the first thing God wants us to learn.
1 Thessalonians 4:9 – “Concerning brotherly love you have no need
that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one
another.”
Herein we see that brotherly love is a lesson God teaches.
It is obviously something that He wants each of us to know.
WE MUST HAVE THE ATTITUDE OF BROTHERLY LOVE.
Mark 12:28-31 - “Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning
together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which
is the first commandment of all?“ Jesus answered him, "The first
of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.
And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.‘
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
WE MUST HAVE THE ATTITUDE OF BROTHERLY LOVE.
If we are taught this of God, and no commandment is greater than this, or worthy
of being counted first, then isn’t this one of the first things God wants
us to learn?
Unfortunately, it is often the LAST thing many people learn.
Hebrews 13:1 – “Let brotherly love continue.”
WE MUST HAVE THE ATTITUDE OF BROTHERLY LOVE.
John 4:20-21 – “If someone says, "I love God," and hates
his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has
seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have
from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love
one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all
will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
It has been said that “Some Christians are like porcupines.. .they have
many good points but they are hard to get close to.”
Conclusion
Christians need to remember the greatness of God’s cause in comparison
to the smallness of our feelings and never let personal feelings on mere matters
of judgment lead us to contribute to division in the body of Christ.
If we could all cultivate these to the highest degree humanly possible, many
of the obstacles to our spiritual growth would be removed.
Are you ready to work on your attitudes?
By Carey Scott from an outline by Donnie S. Barnes
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